King Charles III Coronation: A Commemorative Hallmark
Published: 30th January 2023
To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, a commemorative hallmark has been approved by the British Hallmarking Council and the four UK Assay Offices.
Based on a medal by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS and using artwork supplied by Thomas Fattorini, the mark depicts the King’s head against an oval background. It can be applied to gold, silver, platinum or palladium items, by any of the four UK assay offices. The approval process involved the assay offices considering a selection of possible designs and submitting two to the British Hallmarking Council which chose the design depicting the King’s head.
The King’s Coronation Mark will be an optional mark. Punches will be available in sizes 1mm to 6mm and the minimum size will be 1mm for punches, and 0.75mm for laser. The King’s Coronation Mark can be placed anywhere viable on the item being hallmarked, not necessarily next to the statutory hallmark, and can differ in size from the compulsory component marks. It can be made as large as is practically possible on the item being submitted.
The King’s Coronation Mark can be used with or without the current Date Letter mark and the cost of applying the mark in a standard size will be £1, in addition to the standard hallmarking charges.
Commemorative hallmarks have proved popular with UK consumers. Most recently, before the greatly mourned death of Queen Elizabeth II, a Platinum Jubilee mark in 2022 proved popular with UK consumers. This followed a distinguished history of jubilee hallmarks going back to 1934, and a previous coronation hallmark for Queen Elizabeth II.
A spokesperson for the Assay Offices of the UK said “The UK Assay Offices have a long tradition of capturing special events with the creation of commemorative hallmarks. The special mark provides an additional narrative for products carrying the mark. Equally importantly, it brings the importance of the hallmark into focus with the jewellery-buying consumer.”
Jewellers, silversmiths and retailers can request the mark from Sheffield Assay Office from 1 March 2023 until the end of 2024. The commemorative mark can be applied with or without the current date letter mark. The addition of the commemorative mark will cost £1 for each article on which it is struck as standard, over and above the standard hallmarking charges. Laser and feature commemorative marks may be subject to additional charges.
For more information, please contact our Hallmarking department.
The Sheffield Assay Office was established in 1773, under an Act of Parliament and today the company assays and hallmarks the precious metals - silver, gold, platinum and palladium. Sheffield Assay Office is one of only four UK assay offices who all work to uphold the Hallmarking Act of 1973 and continue to ensure consumer protection for customers purchasing precious metals.
To find out more about the whole range of services offered by Sheffield Assay Office, such as our hallmarking and analytical services, please email us at info@assayoffice.co.uk or complete the contact form on our website at http://www.assayoffice.co.uk/contact-us,
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